The Shanghai Gesture
Thick clouds of opium waft over a tempestuous story of decadence, seduction and debauchery, camouflaged as a sexually charged, highly operatic melodrama. Based on a script that suffered countless rewrites in an attempt to tone down the explicit nature of the material, the film sees the mysterious female owner of a bustling Shanghai casino (the unforgettably vamp-like Ona Munson) hatch a devious revenge scheme, involving a British soldier, his drug-prone daughter and the Machavelian young doctor who’s trying to corrupt her.
Thick clouds of opium waft over a tempestuous story of decadence, seduction and debauchery, camouflaged as a sexually charged, highly operatic melodrama. Based on a script that suffered countless rewrites in an attempt to tone down the explicit nature of the material, the film sees the mysterious female owner of a bustling Shanghai casino (the unforgettably vamp-like Ona Munson) hatch a devious revenge scheme, involving a British soldier, his drug-prone daughter and the Machavelian young doctor who’s trying to corrupt her. What follows next can be summed up as a baroque meller full of delicious absurdity and unspeakable depravity, establishing "The Shanghai Gesture" as a timeless monument to bottomless eccentricity. What many consider a masterpiece, others would describe as a monstrosity but either way it’s hard to put into words and always best to see for yourselves! L.K.
Σκηνοθεσία / Director: Josef von Sternberg
Σενάριο / Screenwriters: John Colton, Josef von Sternberg
Φωτογραφία / DoP: Paul Ivano
Μουσική / Music: Richard Hageman
Μοντάζ / Editor: Sam Winston
Ηθοποιοί / Principal Cast: Gene Tierney, Walter Huston, Victor Mature, Ona Munson, Phyllis Brooks
ΗΠΑ / USA 1941
Ασπρόμαυρο / B&W
98'
Αγγλικά, Γαλλικά, Κινέζικα / English, French, Chinese
* Screened on September 22nd and September 27th
